A celebrity eye surgeon has been struck off after deliberately misleading elderly patients into having unnecessary eye implants, it was reported on Thursday (19).
Bobby Qureshi, whose clients include EastEnders stars June Brown and socialite Lady Annabel Goldsmith, used "pressure-selling" tactics to persuade elderly patients to have replacement lenses implanted.
The treatment is said to have cost £24,000.
A patient who complained to Qureshi that she was no longer able to read after the surgery was told: "I'm a world famous ophthalmologist, are you trying to say you know more than me?"
She has since been registered blind.
A Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service hearing in Manchester heard that Qureshi, the medical director of the private London Eye Hospital, developed an "elaborate, calculated and sustained dishonest plan" to gain "substantial financial reward."
Tribunal chairman Tim Bradbury said: "Mr Qureshi abused his position and his patients’ trust in him and in the profession."
It found that the removal of Qureshi's name from the Medical Register was the "only appropriate sanction in order to meet the overarching objective which is to protect patients, maintain public confidence in the medical profession and uphold proper professional standards".
